Position at Huntington Library

Dibner Conservator
Endowed Position
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

The Huntington invites applications for the Dibner Conservator. The
position is an exempt, full time, regular staff position in the
Preservation Department's Conservation Lab. This professional
position is endowed by the Dibner Fund.

Responsibilities: The Dibner Conservator is responsible for the
physical care, preservation, and conservation treatment of books,
manuscripts, serials, paintings, and objects in the history of
science and technology collections at The Huntington Library. The
Dibner Conservator works to develop and carry out appropriate and
expedient protocols and techniques for treating, documenting,
examining, exhibiting, housing, and photographing these collections
materials. The Dibner Conservator will complete conservation surveys
of the collection, and establishes conservation priorities and
treatment strategies for the collection. The Dibner Conservator will
create an annual report for the Dibner Fund. The Dibner Conservator
uses imaging, written documentation, and the in-house conservation
treatment database to describe and archive records of conservation
treatments for the collection. The Dibner Conservator maintains and
orders supplies and equipment to care for the collection as needed.
The Dibner Conservator may supervise and train interns or additional
staff as needed. The Dibner Conservator participates in departmental
meetings and activities such as educational programs, emergency
response, and environmental monitoring.

The Huntington's science and technology collections range from a
1279 copy of Ptolemy's Almagest to nearly a century's worth of
papers from Mt. Wilson Observatory, including correspondence between
George Ellery Hale and Albert Einstein, and the papers of Edwin
Hubble. The Library's holdings of works by Charles Darwin are
unsurpassed in the United States. One of the Library's treasures is
the double-elephant folio of John James Audubon's Birds of America
(1827-38) with full-color illustrations of birds in their habitats.
The Huntington's history of mathematics includes 39 editions of
Euclid's Elements. Rare Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, and Linneaus
materials are also represented.

The Burndy Library at the Huntington Library consists of an
extensive collection in the history of science and technology with a
strong focus on the physical sciences. The Burndy Library comprises
materials from antiquity to the 20th century, with a particular
emphasis on 18th-century physics, including collections by and about
Isaac Newton, as well as major collections in 18th- and 19th-century
mathematics, the history of electricity, civil and structural
engineering, optics, and color theory. The collection includes such
rare treasures as a 1544 edition of Archimedes' Philosophi ac
Geometrae, a first edition of Robert Boyle's Experiments and the
scientific library of Louis Pasteur. The addition of the Burndy
Library to the Huntington will make the Huntington one of the most
important American centers for research in the history of science
and technology.

Qualifications:

    *   A Bachelor's degree is required, with the Master's degree
        plus certificate in Conservation from a recognized graduate
        conservation training program or a Bachelor's degree plus a
        combination of equivalent formalized advanced training and
        experience in the conservation of library and museum
        materials.

    *   Previous experience working in a library, museum, archives
        facility, or equivalent situation.

    *   Skill in book and paper conservation treatments as
        demonstrated by a portfolio.

    *   Computer literacy, database, and research skills.

    *   Demonstrated knowledge of material science as it applies to
        library and museum materials and media.

    *   Strong knowledge of the history of bookbinding structures
        and printing.

    *   An understanding of the theory and practical techniques of
        conservation and preservation of book, paper, and art
        materials.

    *   Excellent manual skills, attention to detail.

    *   A strong commitment to preserving the intrinsic value of the
        artifacts through the application of appropriate
        conservation techniques.

    *   Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

To Apply: Send a letter of interest, resume, and contact information
for 3 professional references. Please refer to Job #116-06.

Please submit application materials by only one of these methods:

    jobs [at] huntington__org
    <URL:http://www.huntington.org> and click on "Jobs"
    Fax resume to 626-449-2306

    Mail resume or
    Apply in person to:

        The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical
            Gardens
        ATT: Human Resources
        Dibner Conservator - Job #116-06
        1151 Oxford Road
        San Marino CA 91108

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Susan Rogers
The Lloyd E. Cotsen Chief Preservation Officer
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
626-405-2197


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:1
                  Distributed: Saturday, June 24, 2006
                        Message Id: cdl-20-1-041
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